KNOCKOUT!
by FrannyGazelle
Summary: After Samus teasing and making fun of Little Mac's height, there's no way he'll let her get away with it! But just a little problem... Mac doesn't even know what lies inside that powered armor suit. All this time he thought that she was a HE! What do you think his reaction would be finding out that Samus is actually a girl? Will he react violently? Or fall in love? *Please review*
1. Chapter 1

"That bastard! Making fun of my height..." Little Mac muttered to himself while drinking from his water jug. He was sitting on a small stool which was beside a boxing ring.

"Woah! Hey, Mac!" Captain Falcon gave him a high-five. "You did great in the fight earlier, but you should really go easy on Samus."

"Go easy? What do you mean?! That piece of metal made fun of my height during the match, so he deserved a K.O. right on his gut." Little Mac growled, almost crushing his water jug in his hand. Falcon tried not to laugh.

"Pfft. W-Well okay, dude. How about you settle things out with Samus, I'm sure _HE_ would understand." Falcon left and started chuckling.

"What is he laughing about?" Mac thought to himslef while raising an eyebrow.

Little Mac suddenly heard robotic-techy sounds, also sounds like something is malfunctioning, it was coming right his way. The sounds came from Samus' powered armor suit, the abdomen part was sparking, it was damaged. She walked in front and past Little Mac without a word. Mac angrily stood up and followed Samus.

"Hey you! Who do you think you are?!" He shouted behind her back, but Samus continued walking until she reached the drinking station. She started to refill an empty plastic cup. "Are you deaf?! You prick! After making fun of my height earlier, now you're going to play dumb with me?!"

As the cup was refilling, Samus turned to him with her tall armored suit, stared down at him for a while. She grab a hold of her helmet and pulled it off her head. It revealed a girl with blonde hair and her pony-tail was positioned with a red scrunchy.

"Excuse me?" Samus glared at him with her dashing sky blue eyes as she held her helmet close to her.

Mac was shocked, it was a girl under that armored suit this whole time! He felt his heart beat faster while he continued to stare longer, she was... Beautiful. She turned for a while to get a drink from the plastic cup she was refilling.

"So, what were you going to say?" Samus smudged the water off her lips by the time she finished drinking.

"A-Ah... Samus... I-"

Samus sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about making fun of you. My suit's critically damged, but it's fine, I deserved it anyway." Samus placed her helmet back on which made her voice quite robotic and different. "Well, See you around."

She walked away, leaving Mac still shock-stricken.

* * *

**PRESENTING:**

**K.O.**

* * *

**Chapter 1 - A Strange Feeling**

Mac went into his room and laid on his bed, staring up into the ceiling.

"I acted like that because I thought Samus was a dude!" He face-palmed, smudged his hand around on his face and groaned. "Dammit, Mac! How ungentlemanly of you!"

Mac sat up his bed, soon enough, he decided to jog outside to get his mind off of what happened earlier.

Just a few jogs from his house, he met up with Samus jogging towards him, she was wearing a navy blue sports bra and matching cycling shorts, Mac also noticed she had at least two large Salonpas patches on her abdomen (AKA: A pain relieving gel patch). He stopped as Samus jogged past him.

"Samus!" Mac called out as he turned, Samus stopped and turned as well, surprised.

"Yeah?" She walked over to him. "What is it, Little Mac?"

"Hey, are you okay?" Mac rubbed the back of his head as he felt guilt. "You seem pretty hurt..."

"W-What? Ah! Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Samus slightly smiled.

"Sorry about the punch I threw..." Mac averted his eyes away.

Samus laughed a bit. "It's okay."

"Heheh, Yeah." Mac turned his body slightly. "So... I better keep going."

"Oh, well... Nice talking to you, Mac." Samus waved and went back to jogging.

Before Mac could fully turn his body around, he turned back to where Samus is. "...W-Wait!"

"Hm?"

"Uhm... Nothing. Sorry." Mac shook his head and quickly walked away.

"Okay...?" Samus said in a confused manner and continued jogging to the opposite side.

Mac face-palmed once more. "Argh! Stupid! I have to make it up to her somehow!" He suddenly stopped walking and got an idea. "That's it!"

* * *

Little Mac opened his eyes slowly as his digital clock kept alarming and echoing around his room. Daylight beemed from his window and onto his eyes, he groaned as he reached for his clock. The noise coming from the clock stopped as he pounded his palm on it. Mac stared up at the ceiling for a while and got up his bed.

Everyday was a habit for Mac... He lived a normal life, it's just quiet and lonely. Mac rarely talks to anyone, he either is busy training or in a bad mood. Mac's a competitive person, he may be short but he sure packs a big punch!

Mac sat on the sofa as he was eating cereal. He always watched TV while doing so, when he finished, he turns the TV off and leaves to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a bath. After that he changes to his usual outfit, a new pair of green boxing shorts, a black sleeveless shirt and his boxing shoes. Mac packed his boxing gloves in his bag, got his keys, his wallet and grabbed his pink hoodie before leaving his apartment. He left for the Super Smash Bros. Arena, where he trains and battles other brawlers, it has too become a daily habit for him. As Mac entered the venue, the flat-screen TVs were projecting a fight, some had fixed their eyes onto it but Mac wasn't one of them, he had training to do.

The boxer was now in his training area, a punch after another, an upper cut and a final punch. The punching bag fell from it's chain from the amount of force that Mac has blown onto it. The female Wii Trainer - Celine, was watching him was shocked but amazed and astonished.

"Well, I'm impressed!" She clapped as Little Mac was catching his breath.

"T-Thanks, Celine..." Mac gave a smile while he was panting.

"It seems you need a new one, though." Celine glanced at his punching bag.

"Yeah... I'll replace it later." He took his boxing gloves off and wiped his sweat off his face with a towel wrapped on his shoulder.

"Hey, Mac... is it okay if-"

"_Samus!_" A voice that suddenly came out of nowhere stopped their conversation. Mac turned from hearing her name. "_You were great out there._"

"_Thanks._" A seemingly cold and emotionless voice replied.

Mac wasted no time and quickly rushed to see what awaits him outside.

"M-Mac..." Celine called out but Little Mac didn't hear and continued on.

She followed him outside until she realized Mac standing still just steps away from her, his eyes widened and staring at a certain direction... Celine looked what was in front of her and Mac, it was Samus in all of her beauty wearing her Zero Suit surrounded by boys congratulating her victory earlier. Her suit really showed off her curves, it just made her so hot and irresistible!

Mac stepped forward and slowly walked closer to Samus as Celine looked down as if in defeat. Samus continued to thank all of them until a tap on her shoulder caught her attention.

"Yes?" Samus turned, seeing Mac inches below her height.

"H-Hey..." Mac's cheeks turned red as he rubbed the back of his head, his eyes averted away from his embarrassment.

"Oh, it's you." Samus gave a smile.

The men were quite puzzled, they never saw Samus smile like that before to anyone... Why him? Why little Mac?

"What is it, Mac?" Samus asked.

"W-Well... Are you free today?" Mac's eyes pointed back at Samus.

"Yeah, why?" Samus felt warmth on her cheeks. Is he taking her out somewhere?

"Would you mind if you go with me around the city? Like a walk... We can go to the cafe after if you want." Mac was really red at this point. So was Samus.

The boys bursted in laughter. As if it were to say - Really, Mac? Do you think Samus would accept going with a midget loser like you? You must be joking!

"...Sure." Samus gulped as her heart was racing.

"HAHA! WAIT, WHAAAAT?!" The boys exclaimed in a violent manner, as if they owned Samus.

"W-What...?" Mac was in total shock, she accepted?!

"When will it be?" A shy smile appeared on Samus face, she was so cute.

"Later at 5pm, if that's okay with you." Mac scratched his cheek with his finger. "I'll pick you up."

"I'll be looking forward to it." Samus replied. Mac felt like his heart would explode.

"Later...!" Mac sprinted back to his training area and slammed his body against the wall. He panted... Then a smile slowly formed and he chuckled. He sighed with relief. What is this strange feeling? Is Little Mac in love?

Celine walked up beside him with sadness in her face.

"What was that all about?" She asked with confusion.

"N-Nothing... Just..." Another smile had triggered on his face. "I... I think I like her."

Celine turned away, as she heavily sighed. Mac noticed it and stopped.

"H-Hey... What's wrong?" Mac held her shoulder but got no response from her. "Sorry for not listening earlier... Could you tell me now?"

Celine shook her head and took Mac's hand off her shoulder. "Nevermind."

She left without another word, Mac just scratched his head and went back to training. He was definitely confused and absolutely clueless!

* * *

**-End of Chapter 1-**


	2. Chapter 2

Sparks light up the dimmed room, sounds of drilling, metal clanking and falling on the floor. It was Samus, fixing her powered armor suit... She looked exhausted, she was sweating more than the fight she had earlier! Samus stopped and wiped her sweat with her arm.

"Whew..." She moved her goggles to her forehead and placed her equipment back in the tool box. "I'll continue later..." Samus told herself and furiously blushed. "...A-After going out with Little Mac."

Samus started to clean her surroundings, suddenly, someone knocked on her door. She quickly ran up to it as she brightened up the lights. Samus held the doorknob but stopped, she realized that she wasn't dressed yet... What if it was Mac? He would be displeased of her looking like this, seeing her covered in dirt and splatters of oil on her white shirt... She sighed and opened the door, to her surprise it wasn't Mac... It was the Wii Trainer, Celine.

"O-Oh... It's just you, Celine." Samus felt calm again. "May I help you?"

"Can we talk for a sec?" Celine entered Samus' room.

"Sure." Samus closed the door, she was shocked how Celine just entered her room like that, it was rude but she shrugged it off anyway. Samus walked up in front of her. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"About Mac." Celine looked down.

"What about him?"

"Why'd you accept going with him later?"

"H-Huh? I-I..." Samus' words trailled off.

"D-Do you like him?" Celine was worried, she knew that Mac was developing a crush on her.

"What...? N-No!" Samus laughed nervously.

"Then why'd you accept?" Celine furrowed her eyebrows. If she didn't like Mac in the first place, why bother, right?

"I just thought that going out on a stroll with him would be fine." Samus told, explaining. "I only see him as a friend, okay?"

Celine sighed in relief. "That's good... I thought that you were taking him away from me."

"I wouldn't do that to my friend, wouldn't I? I know that he'll like you." Samus held Celine's shoulder, asuring her that she meant what she said.

"I knew you wouldn't!" Celine smiled proudly.

"Mac is all yours. He deserves a girl like you."

"Thank you, Samus!" Celine hugged Samus tightly. "I better be going, see you around!"

Celine left and closed the door shut. Samus bit her trembling lower lip, she then covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes showed sadness but she refused to let her tears flow... It broke her heart to say that, but she had to do it in order not to break Celine's.

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Just Friends?**

"Do I look okay, Doc?" Mac asked as he turned. He was wearing his black tank top and blue jeans.

"Why are you asking?" Doc Louis raised his eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"

Mac felt a tingling sensation on his cheeks, he smiled and nodded. "Y-Yeah."

Doc noticed Little Mac's reaction and smirked. "Oh? A date with whom? ...Samus?"

From the light shade of pink, Mac's face turned tomato red. "H-How'd you know?! And besides, I-It's not a date!"

"I've overheard others talking about you two." Doc chuckled. "And of course it's a date! Going alone with a girl is considered as one, just like what you and Samus are up to!"

"It's not." Mac turned away. "I just wanted to make it up to her."

"Well then, if you say so."

Mac turned to the clock, 4:56. He rushed to get his wallet. "Shoot! I-I have to go!"

Doc waved, Mac waved back while exiting his training area.

Little Mac ran through the hallways of the Super Smash Bros. Arena, looking for Samus' room. Soon, he realized that he lost track and started to panic.

"Where is her room...? I only have 3 minutes left!" Mac turned about to find anyone around, eventually he did. "H-Hey, you might not understand me but... Do you know where Samus' room is?"

"...Pika?"

* * *

Samus got out of the shower, dressed in her blue sweater and white shorts. She continued to dry her hair with the towel wrapped on her shoulders, she turned to the mirror and combed her hair then tied it with a red scrunchy.

She stared at her reflection for a while then turned, she heard knocking from the door, it was Little Mac for sure. Samus approached her door and took a deep breath then exhaled before twisting the doorknob. She opened the door... Surprisingly, Pikachu was on his shoulder!

"Thanks, Pikachu."

"Pika pi!" Pikachu hopped off Mac's shoulder and left the two.

Mac gazed at Samus, he couldn't help but to show the smile he was trying to hide. His eyes seem to sparkle from doing so... Samus felt her face heat up, not only did his smile suit him, that smile was for her.

"No, no! Snap out of it!" She thought to herself as she turned away, looking down.

"S-Samus..." Mac rubbed the back of his neck. He was only wearing a simple attire, but Samus didn't mind at all.

"Hey, Mac." Samus replied in a soft voice as her eyes averted back to him with complete shyness. Mac thought she looked really cute.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Samus nodded as she got her keys and closed her door.

* * *

They walked beside each other, Mac was looking at the ground and his thumbs in his pockets while Samus was looking straight. He lifted his head up and stared at her, Samus noticed but when she was about to turn to him, he quickly turned away.

Samus looked at him, she knew that he was looking her seconds ago! She couldn't help but smile and laugh. "What is it, Mac?"

Mac shyly turned his head back to her. "S-Sorry... I just thought that you look great."

"...What?"

"N-Nothing!" Mac gave an embarrassed look and sped up his pace, making him inches ahead from Samus.

"Okay...?" Samus said in a confused tone and tilted her head.

They finally reached the park. Both of them sat on the bench but they had a gap between them. They were both facing away, it seemed like they felt shy or awkward together like this. They didn't know what to say to each other, neither do they have the courage to.

"C'mon, Mac...! Get yourself straight and talk to her!" He whispered to himself. He turned to Samus as he gave a goofy smile. "H-Hey."

Samus turned as well with a shy expression on her face. "Hey."

"Are you okay now?" Mac asked, scratching his cheek with a finger.

"Y-Yeah... The pain's gone, thank you for being concerned."

"How about your armored suit? Is it fixed?"

Samus shook her head and chuckled slightly. "No."

"Oh jeez! I'm really sorry!" Mac palmed his forehead and ran his hand through his hair, guilt was writen all over his face. "I-Is there anything I can do to help?"

Samus was overwhelemed, he was willing to help her? Her face turned in a light shade of red as she continue to stare at Little Mac with a shocked look.

"...S-Samus?" When Mac called out, she snapped out of it. "Did I say something wrong?"

"A-Ah! No! Not at all!" Samus gave a nervous laugh, as she shyly looked down. "It's just that I never expected you to request to help me... Thank you, but it's okay, it'll probably take just a few hours."

Mac moved himself closer to her. "You sure?"

"Yes." Samus nodded as she did the same, smiling sweetly at him.

Mac stood up from his seat. "Wanna walk?"

Samus nodded and got on her feet as well. They strolled around the park and continued their conversation.

"May I ask you something, Samus?" Mac slightly turned away, as if something were to hold him back.

"Sure! Why not?"

"This might sound weird but... Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Mac turned to her with a serious look on his face. Samus shook her head. "Why not? Isn't there a lot of guys who admire you?"

"Yeah but... I-I refused them."

"Why?"

"I just don't feel the same way." Samus said in a sad tone. "How about you, Mac?"

"Eh?" Mac blushed slightly, he never thought she would ask. "Nope."

"D-Do you like someone?" Samus stuttered.

Mac blushed even more. "Well, I don't know, maybe? Y-Yes...?"

"I see." Samus gave a fake smile, he probably likes Celine, doesn't he?

"You? Do you like someone?"

Samus shook her head once more. "...N-No."

"Oh." Mac felt quite uneasy, but placed that feeling aside. "Do you want to grab some coffee?"

"Yeah." Samus nodded with a faint smile.

* * *

Samus sipped the last drops of her coffee while making eye contact with Mac.

She placed her cup down on a saucer. "Y-You didn't have to pay for my coffee, you know?"

"C'mon, it's not like you had money or anything, right?" He jokingly said as he leaned back on his seat. Samus stayed silent, Mac was right.

"T-Thank you, Little Mac." Samus said as she was looking at her empty coffee cup.

"You're welcome, Samus." Mac sipped from his cup, he had finished his as well. "Anything else you want? A cinnamon bun? or perhaps a cheesecake?"

"No, no...! Mac, a cup of coffee is just fine." Samus flailed her hands as her face turned pink. She stood up from her seat. "...B-Besides, I have to go."

Mac stood up as well. "I'll assist you home, if that's fine with y-"

"It's okay, Mac." Samus smiled shyly. "Instead, thank you for this little... D-Date."

Mac felt the tingling sensation on his cheeks again, he held the back of his neck. "No problem."

"You know, I'm glad. I'm glad that you're now my _friend_, Mac." Samus looked at the ground smiling then approached Mac and gave him a hug. He wasn't the only one who was shocked, everyone who was there to see it were too! Their jaws dropped and eyes widened... She actually dared to hug him! She pulled away then waved. "See you tomorrow!"

Samus exited the cafe while Mac stood at the same place, completely still and speechless. What just happened? Was this a dream? No it can't be... Samus Aran just hugged him! In front of everyone!

* * *

Mac was lying down on his bed while staring at the ceiling. He face-palmed and smudged his hands roughly on his face, he gave a big sigh as he dumped his hands back on the bed.

"Mac, stop... There's no way she'll ever like you! She only sees you as a friend, nothing else!" He harshy told himself. "No chance, she'll reject you like all the other men who tried to ask her out."

* * *

Samus was frantically tossing and turning on her bed... She couldn't sleep, nor she couldn't get Mac out of her head.

"Oh, Samus... You can't be serious. You can't be good enough for him... He's short, you're tall. Do you want people to make fun of you?" Samus sighed as she tucked herself in her blanket. "Besides, he likes Celine... N-Not me."

* * *

**-End of Chapter 2-**


	3. Chapter 3

Little Mac took his keys and exited his apartment. He didn't get enough sleep last night, the bags under his eyes were quite dark. Mac held his forehead and groaned as he continued to walk down the stairs.

As he slumped his boxing gloves' weight on his shoulder, his attention got caught to someone below the stairs, she seemed to be waiting for someone at the door... Mac tried to figure who it was but his drowsy vision wasn't helping. He gave up and went on to the other set of stairs.

"...Mac?" A familiar voice called out which almost made Mac lose his balance. At this point, he snapped out of his sleepiness.

He quickly turned his body around, there he saw... A shocked blonde girl, staring back at him.

"S-Samus!" Mac stuttered.

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Jealous**

"Good morning." Samus wore a warm smile to her face. Her smile was so welcoming, it gave Mac a tingling sensation from head to toe.

"M-Morning..." He smiled back but rather wore a goofy one. "What are you doing in front of Celine's apartment?"

She gave a soft laugh. "Oh, she called up and asked me to drop by to wait for her."

"I see." Mac chuckled then pointed his head to the stairs going down. "Well...? Do you want to walk to the arena with me?"

"I have to wait for Celine, right?" Samus shyly rubbed her arm.

"Oh yeah! Sorry..." Mac scratched his cheek with his finger. "But... I can wait."

Hearing that from him made Samus' heart skip a beat. "A-Are you sure?"

He nodded as he slowly walked up to her. They gazed at each other's eyes for a while until Samus' face showed curiousness... She suddenly held Mac's cheeks with one hand, her thumb on his right cheek and the rest of her four fingers on the other, she examined his face, moving his head side to side gently. Mac felt so embarrassed, he knew his face looked funny at his point... Also, Samus never had been this close to his face before.

"S-Samus, what are you do-"

"You didn't sleep well last night, didn't you...? Are you alright?" Samus asked as she finally let go of his cheeks. She sounded so concerned, she sounded just like a mother.

"Yeah... But don't worry about me, I'm fine." Mac gave a smile and rubbed the back of his head.

Samus sighed as she looked down. "Sorry to bother you like that... I just have these motherly instincts."

"It's okay, I actually don't mind at all!" Mac held her shoulder, grinning.

Samus slightly lifted her head up as she gave a faint smile, making eye contact with Mac once more.

"...Guys?" A voice interrupted them. They turned, it was of course, Celine. "W-What were you both doing?"

Mac realized his hand was still on Samus' shoulder and quickly pulled his hand away. "N-Nothing...!"

"It's not what you think, Celine." Samus told in a nervous tone. "We were just-"

"I-It's okay, you don't need to explain. I trust you guys." Celine smiled. "Let's go?" She then said in a cheerful way, pointing her thumb towards the stairs.

* * *

"So what are you up to today?" Samus asked Little Mac as they were walking.

Mac stretched, giving a soft grunt from doing so. "Well, I don't know... Train again with Doc, I guess. How about you?"

"I'm gonna continue to fix my suit, then train as well." Samus shrugged.

Mac crossed his arms behind his head and thought for a while. "...Are you sure you don't need help with that?"

Samus smiled tilting her head. "Oh, I'm sure."

While the two continued their conversation, Celine was quiet... She glaced at them couple of times, seeing both of them comfortable and near each other made her feel... Jealous. She furrowed her eyebrows and stared down on the sidewalk's pavement, slowly starting to space out.

"Celine?" Samus called out with her hand on her cheek.

"W-Wha?!" Celine snapped out of it, and noticed her two friends staring at her.

"What are you gonna do for today?" When Little Mac asked this, Celine's turned pink. Is he going to ask her if she's free?

"Y-Yeah..." She nodded, not paying attention to what he said.

Mac wore a confused look on his face, that was not the reply he wasn't expecting.

"Celine, Mac is asking you what you're going to do today..." Samus repeated.

Celine covered her face in embarrassment. "OH! I-I'm sorry... I have a yoga class schedule at 10, so yeah."

"Okay." Mac stroked his chin. "May I join? I have no scheduled fights after training."

"Y-Yes! Of course!" Celine was filled with joy and hopped.

"Great!" Mac fist pumped then turned to Samus. "Samus, you can go too, right?"

Celine paused. For the first time, she didn't want Samus in the picture. She knew that Mac would obviously put his attention to her. She pouted with an annoyed expression...

"Huh? Oh, sure." Samus replied, thinking Celine wouldn't mind.

* * *

The three of them arrived at the arena... They were then surrounded by a series of long hallways, Little Mac and Celine had the same path while Samus was at the opposite side. Before Samus could split up...

"Erm... You're leaving now?" A hint of sadness could be heard in Mac's voice.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Samus tilted her head in confusion.

"Just..." Mac took a deep breath and exhaled. "...Drop by if you need anything okay?"

"E-Eh?" Samus felt warmth on her cheeks. "Well... If you say so, then I will. Thanks."

They both waved at each other before going their separate ways. Celine walked beside him... Hoping for a conversation to start, but all she got was a yawn.

"Ugh, not again..." Mac rubbed his eye, his drowsiness is back.

"Sleepy?" Celine sighed with annoyed tone in her voice.

"Y-Yeah." Mac yawned once more.

* * *

"C'mon, Mac...! Fight like a man!" Samus dodged a punch which he threw.

Samus wasn't wearing any ordinary suit, she was wearing a tight-fitted-orange-sleeveless crop top and matching shorts... It revealed her flawless white skin, the zipper of her crop top was slightly pulled down, revealing a part of her cleavage.

Mac was unable to concentrate with her wearing those skimpy clothing. He furiously blushed but continue to throw punches at her.

Samus dodged once more, holding her paralyzer close. "What's wrong, Mac? _Enjoying_ the view?"

A sweat ran down his cheek as he gulped. "T-That's-"

"Oh then, why are you _missing_ out?" Samus giggled.

"I-I can't hit you... I can't hit a girl like you." Mac blushed even more, he felt his heart pound heavily.

"Why is that?"

"I wouldn't want to destroy your delicate skin and bruise your beautiful face, Samus." Mac turned away, embarrassed of what he just said...

"Mac..." Was all he could hear from Samus. He turned back to her and noticed that her face showed a seductive smirk. Samus moved her head beside his, and whispered. "Try me."

The warmth of her breath was steaming against his ear, as if to were beg for a kiss. Then she pulled her head back, now facing Mac's flustered face... Closer than ever.

"Samus..." Mac softly said before he pressed his lips against hers.

They both shared a kiss, Samus wrapped her arms around his neck and Mac's hands on her waist. Samus slightly pulled back and whispered. "I love you..."

"...Mac."

"Mac."

"MAC!"

"H-HUH?!" Mac jolted and frantically looked around only to find himself standing on the boxing ring with Doc Louis. He was... Daydreaming all along?

"Mac! Focus! You've been standing with a blank face for minutes!" Doc told held up the training gloves and shook them. "You even missed hitting these moments before!"

"S-Sorry... I-I..." Mac leaned his head on his green boxing gloves with an exhausted groan.

"Woah... What's wrong, champ?" Doc approached him and held Mac's shoulder.

"I just didn't get enough sleep last night... Sorry for not concentrating, Doc." Mac replied in a sleepy-brittle voice. "But I'm fine, I'll snap out of it."

"Okay then." Doc held up the training gloves once more, positioning himself and Mac continued on with his training.

Mac placed his full effort onto it, he tried to shake off his sleepiness. Punch after another, he was able to aim accurately again.

"Excuse me...?" A voice called out at the end of the room, where the entrance was located.

Mac turned his body around, it was was Samus. She was dressed in her blue zero suit. "Samus! What's up?"

"Sorry to disturb you... But I'm just here to remind you that we have a team battle at at 10, few minutes from now." She replied.

At this point, Mac's heart was beating fast. "A team battle? With whom?"

"With me, silly." Samus laughed. "By the way, we're Team Green and this was chosen by random."

"Ah." Mac nodded. "Okay."

"Make sure you come, I don't want to fight alone!" Samus placed her hands on her hips, teasing him. "Anyways, be there, okay?"

"No problem." A smile started to form on his face.

As soon as Samus left, Mac leaned on the boxing ring's ropes and rested his chin on his boxing glove, giving a happy sigh... Doc noticed his reaction and nudged his shoulder.

"I know that face." He bounced his eyebrows.

Mac's face quickly changed to a curious-serious look and turned to Doc. "What face?"

"The one you had seconds ago." Doc crossed his arms and smirked, leaning on the post beside him.

"Oh... That one." Mac rolled his eyes. "It's not a biggie, right?"

"Mac?"

"Hm?"

"You're falling in love, aren't you?"

"W-W-WHA- NO! I-IT CAN'T BE!" Mac exclaimed as his face turned red, he started to panic. "THERE'S NO WAY I'D FALL IN LOVE WITH HER!"

Doc chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, boy..." he held Mac's shoulder. "Stop hesitating!"

"I-I... I'm not hesitating!" Mac pouted, looking away and crossing his arms.

"Yes, you are." Doc insisted, telling him slowly. "Look at you!"

Mac placed his arms down back to his sides... Furrowing his eyebrows, looking down on his feet. He thought for a while, he summed his feelings up before concluding that they're real and true. The question is, does he like Samus?

He remembered the times he was happy by her company. It might have just been barely a day, but not only did he like it, he loved it. He loved being... With her. Recalling the time when he discovered what really lied beneath that suit... It was definitely love at first sight. He looked up at Doc with eyes full of worry and confusion, he didn't know what to do.

"D-Doc... I-"

"Don't worry, Mac. She'll like you someday, I guarantee it!" Doc did a thumbs up.

"Do you really think a short guy like me could persuade a tall girl like Samus?" Mac pointed at his chest with a sarcastic laugh. He turned his back, crossing his arms. "...No way."

"Here you go again, doubting yourself." Doc tsked. "Doubting yourself won't help, Mac. You have to be confident of yourself, when you accept who you are, maybe Samus will accept you as well."

Mac turned his head to his right shoulder, his back still facing Doc. "You guarantee it?"

"Yeah!"

"100%?"

"Why not?"

Mac turned his body around, showing a faint smile formed on his face. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try..."

"That's the spirit!" Doc patted Mac's back. "Hit 'em, baby!"

Mac confidently nodded and jumped off the ring then rushed to the exit.

"Good luck with your fight, Mac!"

"I will!" Mac saluted.

* * *

Mac quickly ran to stage selection entrance, where he saw Samus waiting outside. She turned around and noticed him running towards her.

"Mac! Where have you been? The fight is about to start!" Samus shouted as he finally arrived beside her, panting.

"I-I'm sorry... I was-"

Before Mac could finish his explanation, Samus grab a hold of his arm and pulled him in the room. To their surprise, it was dark. Only the stage lit the room with the words: 'stand here' colored in neon yellow. By the time they stood there side to side the entrance was shut tight...

Suddenly, the 'stand here' was turned off, leaving them in total darkness... Until the stars in the galaxy and bright solar flares illuminated the room, the stage was now outlined with the glowing colors of blue and red... It was activated and started rising from the ground.

"This is the final destination stage..." Samus said in a serious tone as she adjusted her paralyzer.

"Samus had always been so serious in a battle." Mac thought to himself looking at the emotionless girl beside him.

The stage came to a full stop... And they could now see their opponents.

Captain Falcon and Fox Mccloud.

"Oh boy, look what we have here! A couple!" Falcon teased, putting his knuckles on his waist and standing confidently. Samus gave a slight blush and averted her eyes away, still keeping that serious look on her face.

Mac was angered from hearing the word 'couple'. He held his fist up firmly, threatening him. "Dammit, Falcon! You'll pay for that!"

"Well, let's just find out if you will." Fox smirked.

They gave each team a death glare as it started to count down...

**3**

**2**

**1**

**GO**

Samus quickly fired, paralyzing Fox who was in range. Little Mac ran up to Fox and gave an upper cut sending him flying into the air. Captain Falcon then gave Mac a jab, placing him off his feet.

Mac growled, but before he could get back up on his feet, Samus went in front of him and gave Falcon a dash attack, pushing him away.

"Woah..." Mac's face was full in awe, he was impressed.

Samus turned to him with her eyes widened. "MAC, LOOK OUT!"

"W-Wha-!"

Fox grabbed Mac and kicked him off the stage. Lucky for Mac he was able to reach on the edge.

Falcon grabbed Samus as Fox started to corner her. "Sorry, Sam." He said before he threw her to Fox.

They both threw her around like she were some volleyball. Her damage percentage quickly rose as they continue.

"WOMBO COMBO!"

Mac forced himself up back onto the stage and saw how Samus was in desperate need of help. Before Falcon could do his last move to send her off range, Mac charged on them like a running bull, he gave Fox a dash attack to move him out of his way then gave Falcon an uppercut, setting Samus free.

Samus was astonished... Did Mac just save her? She stood up as he approached her.

"You okay?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Samus gave a calm smile and they both went back to their side of the stage, waiting for their opponents to get back on their feet.

* * *

Celine was waiting outside of her yoga room while others entered.

"Who are you waiting for? We've been waiting for 30 minutes to start!" Daisy asked as Peach was beside her.

"I'm waiting for Mac and Samus... They're supposed to be here already." Celine started to worry as she crossed her arms.

"Why would they be here? They have a team battle at the moment!" Peach added, with confusion in her face.

"A team battle?" Celine lifted her eyebrow.

"Yeah! Didn't they tell you?" Daisy tilted her head as Celine's face showed disappointment.

"Let's... Let's just start." Celine was upset and quickly walked the room. Daisy and Peach looked at each other and shrugged.

* * *

Falcon and Fox were now on their feet, sweating and panting as they were faced their opponents. Little Mac and Samus looked back at them as a sly smile formed on their faces... Taunting them to go first. They took the chance and seized Mac and Samus.

"NOW!" Samus jumped in the air and landed like a missile on Falcon, but he was able to dodge it. At least Samus got to separate him from his team-mate.

She then gave Falcon a boost kick, almost knocking him out of range. Falcon landed harshly, but quickly got up and fought back. They were both so quick and alert, they could hardly get a single hit.

Mac gave Fox a couple of jabs then a hard punch. Fox was thrown back, his feet were slightly carried off the ground but he managed to land back on them.

He placed force on his feet so he could stop being dragged any further away from his opponent. "My turn." Fox said after he came to a complete stop. He then dash attacked with a combo of jabs and kicks on Mac.

Mac was cornered at the edge trying to regain his balance but Fox poked his forehead making him back on the same position he left him... Hanging on the edge. He tried to get back up on the stage but Fox took out his blaster.

"Oh, I won't let you get away this time..." He pointed it straight at Mac's face.

Fox started charging the gun, it was glowing into big red spark. Mac could only look away as he tightly closed his eyes shut.

Samus turned, noticing the commotion. "Mac...!"

She quickly sprung into action, dashing towards Fox.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE!" Falcon shouted but Samus ignored him. "FOX WATCH YOUR BACK! FOX!"

But he wasn't able to hear his team-mate's warning... Fox was too focused on Mac, about to release the trigger. To his shock, Samus does an handstand split while spinning in place, moving her legs up vertically... Fox was brought into the air. His blaster shot at the edge of the stage, missing Mac's gloves by only inches.

Fox was about to come back down, but Samus kicks him forward sending him away from the stage.

"OH COME ON!" Fox groaned as he tried to bring himself back on the stage. "...Okay, lemme just-"

Fox's eyes widened at Samus, she somersaulted over Mac - doing a front flip aiming for him. The heel of her foot kicked him downward, down smashing him. Fox was now unable to bring himself back up, now falling off the game.

"**DEFEATED!**" A loud voice echoed as a large ray of light beamed where Fox fell.

"SAMUS!" Mac cried out, seeing that she's falling as well.

Instead of letting herself fall, she somersaulted back onto the stage's edge, unharmed. She then held out her hand to him. "Quick, give me your hand."

Mac lifted up his arm making Samus grab a hold of it. "...T-Thanks."

"No problem." Samus she replied, still holding his arm. Then she quickly outstretched her free arm behind her, pointing her paralyzer directly at Falcon, who was about to attack.

"Ah, Samus. You got me." Falcon chuckled and formed a menacing smile on his face. He held his hands up as Samus turned her body around, letting go of Mac's arm, still pointing her weapon at him.

Mac stopped her before she could approach him. "May I?" He asked politely as he was looking at Captain Falcon.

"With pleasure." Samus placed her paralyzer down, still glaring at Falcon.

"Hahaha! What are you gonna do? Punch me again?" Falcon laughed mockingly, underestimating Little Mac.

Mac curled himself up and he held his right hand to his chest... As he was charging his punch, a powerful aura came over him like a tsunami.

"Heh, no." Mac gritted his teeth lifted his head up slightly so he could look at Falcon before he'd unleash his power. "...I'm gonna make you pay."

By the time he finished his words, he released the K.O. uppercut.

Falcon tried to escape Mac's attack, but it was too late. "W-WAIT-!" Mac cut off his words by hitting him with his overpowered punch, wiping him out of the tournament.

"**GAME!**"

Everything was starting to slow down, the stage was falling... With a blink of an eye, Samus and Mac were swiftly teleported to a stage with an audience cheering for them.

"**THE WINNER IS - GREEN TEAM!**" They did their winning stance as Captain Falcon and Fox were clapping beside them, noted as second placers.

* * *

Little Mac and Samus exited the stage and were quickly congratulated by their two opponents.

"Hey! You guys really kicked our butts out there!" Falcon caught up behind them. "Congratulations!"

"Ay, Mac! No hard feelings, right?" Fox walked beside Mac.

"No hard feelings." Mac smiled and shook Fox's hand while patting his back.

"Oh, Mac? Sorry for underestimating 'ya back there!" Falcon held Mac's shoulder.

"Yeah _sure_, Captain." Mac rolled his eyes as he replied sarcastically.

"No! Seriously, you were great!" Falcon insisted.

"And you were awesome, Samus!" Fox turned to her, putting out his hand.

"Thanks." Samus took his hand and shook it.

"Damn, Sam! You were amazing!" Falcon held her shoulder as well.

"I really appreciate the compliment. Thank you, Falcon." Samus smiled.

"We better get going!" Falcon went in front of them as Fox followed.

"See you guys around!" Fox waved.

* * *

They finally reached the main hall where they met a bunch of brawlers that wanted to congratulate them.

"My, my, Samus! You really outdone yourself!" Zelda told. "Impressive!"

"Thank you, Zelda." Samus bowed her head slightly while giving a calm smile.

"That performance was outstanding, you guys!" Rosalina cheerfully clapped with Luma happily floating around her.

"Congratulations, Mac!" Mario shook his hand with both of his while Luigi was holding a thumbs up behind his brother.

"T-Thank you so much, everyone!" Mac gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes, thank you." Samus added.

"Well, we don't want to keep you occupied." Zelda smirked. She placed her hand beside her mouth. "Besides, you guys seem like you're _busy_."

"S-SAY WHAT?! HECK NO!" Mac exclaimed as his face flushed with pure red.

"W-Wh- Zelda! It's not like that!" Samus screamed as she furiously blushed. She then quickly covered her mouth, embarrassed. Mac noticed her reaction, that was cute, she looked so... Cute.

"Ohoho~! Samus, what's up?" Rosalina bounced her eyebrows.

"N-Nothing! I swear!" Samus stuttered.

"C'mon, ladies... Leave the _couple_ alone!" Luigi teased while he walked away with Mario.

"Yeah! It's-a not your _business_!" Mario grunted, trying not to laugh.

"I guess, they're right. Bye!" Zelda waved, going the same direction where Mario and Luigi went.

"Aww... Fine! Have _fun_, you guys!" Rosalina floated away along with Luna. The two were now left alone, now laughing of what just happened.

* * *

"You... You fight good." Mac turned away as they continue to walk down the main hallway beside each other.

Samus' face heated up, who knew that he would compliment her as well. "T-Thank you, Mac. And you're one-hit K.O. was flawless."

"Wow, thanks." Mac gave a shy smile as he rubbed the side of his neck.

"My pleasure." Samus smiled back.

Both of them suddenly stopped and noticed someone standing in front of them... Celine.

Celine looked so upset and disappointed. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor, waiting for an explaination.

"Hey, Celine! Guess what? We won!" Mac told with a joyful tone.

"Ahem!" Celine raised her eyebrow while tilting her head, continuing to tap her foot.

"W-What? What is it? Did we- OH!" Mac remembered the yoga class they were supposed to attend. "We forgot to tell Celine about the team battle!" He whispered to Samus.

"Oh, shoot!" Samus whispered back. "S-Sorry, Celine... We had this unscheduled team battle, and-"

"Hmph!" Celine turned her back on them puffing her cheeks.

"C-Celine, we're sorry! We'll make it up to you! C'mon!" Mac said as he felt guilt with Samus. "How about we work out in the park?"

Celine turned around. "We...?"

"Yeah! You, me and Samus." Mac replied, smiling.

Celine made an annoyed look like what she did earlier, averting her eyes away. She didn't want to bring Samus along... Just her and Little Mac.

This time, Samus noticed her reaction... As if she didn't want her there. She also thought that maybe she was getting in her way.

"You guys go ahead, I'm really exhausted from the fight earlier." Samus sighed as her heart felt heavy, it was the only way. Celine's face changed from being annoyed to shocked and glad.

"You don't want to come?" Mac worriedly asked. "Are you feeling fine?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'm just tired, I'll just see you guys tomorrow." Samus walked away, leaving Mac with Celine.

"Samus..." Mac thought to himself as he felt empty, watching her walk away.

"So, where do we start?" Celine asked with a hint of happiness in her voice.

* * *

Little Mac and Celine jogged around the park and did stretching techniques. Celine noticed that Mac didn't look happy by her company, it made her so envious... Why does her bestfriend have to be the one who makes him happy? Is Samus even a bestfriend?

"So, Mac... What's up?" She asked as she stretched her arm. He looked up to her with a blank face for a second.

"Huh? Oh, nothing much, I guess..." Mac looked away from her again, continuing his sit-ups routine.

Celine got so pissed. Not at Mac but pissed at Samus. They've been working out for about an hour now and it's so hard to keep a conversation with him! They used to be close before he discovered Samus was a girl.

"Samus is the reason why Mac's acting like this, if it weren't for her... He'd pay more attention to me." Celine thought as she clenched her fist tightly.

"...Hey, Celine?" Mac called out, starting to calm Celine down. "Are you okay? You seem angry."

"O-Oh, no. I'm not." Celine smiled sweetly. "Do you want to head back now, Mac?"

"I don't know, if you want to then I'm fine with it. I'm also fine with otherwise." Mac told. It kind of sounded like he really wanted to leave, though.

"Let's just head back, Mac." Celine kindly said, hiding her disappointment. "Thank you for this little workout, by the way."

"Okay, sure." Mac stood up.

* * *

They were jogging back to the arena, but Celine took a turn.

"Celine, the arena's that way!" He shouted as he was jogging in place.

"I know, I'm heading home!" Celine replied. "Thanks for the company, Mac! Bye now!" She said before she continued to jog away.

"Bye!" Mac left for the arena by himself.

* * *

Celine started to think of something while heading home. What should she do to win Mac's heart?

"Lunch at the cafe? Nah. A stroll around the city? He might not even talk to me. Workout at the gym? Definitely not." She whispered to herself as she finally arrived at the apartment building. Celine walked up the stairs and continued her planning. "Yoga class? With Samus? No way. Shopping in the mall? I don't think Mac's into that stuff..."

She opened her door and flung herself on the sofa... Then it hit her.

"Yes! That's it!" She sat up holding her index finger.

"...A date! I'll ask him out on a date!"

* * *

**-End of Chapter 3-**


	4. Chapter 4

It was getting dark out and Little Mac just arrived back to the SSB arena... But it was rather less crowded and the other brawlers started exiting the arena as well. While Mac was heading back to his training area, he looked at the ground as he walked and gave a heavy sigh. Boy, was he tired...

"...If only Samus was here." He thought. Got to think of it, he'd be happier around her. Just by thinking of Samus, his exhausted feeling slowly faded away... A smile started to appear on his face, there is no doubt that he is in love with that girl.

* * *

**Chapter 4 - The Dream**

He lifted up his head still wearing that smile, until he noticed Doc Louis steps in front of him.

"Oh! Doc!" Mac halted as his coach did too.

"Mac!" Doc called out with happiness in his voice and gave a pat on Little Mac's shoulder. "I saw the whole thing! The match with you and Samus earlier!"

"You did?" Mac asked, a tingling sensation overwhelmed his cheeks by hearing her name.

"Why wouldn't I?" Doc chuckled. "Anyways, you and Samus did great back there! Incredible!"

"Thanks, Doc!" Mac rubbed the back of his head.

"You and Samus would make a great team, you guys really looked out for each other." Doc told with a grin on his face.

"Y-Yeah... I couldn't have done it without her." Mac stuttered, giving a nervous laugh.

"And I'm sure that she couldn't have done it without you too, Mac." Doc nodded slightly.

Mac processed the words in his mind... He blushed and averted his eyes away. What Doc Louis said was true.

"Oh yeah, I think Samus hasn't left the arena yet, why not go see her?" Doc reminded, pointing his thumb behind him.

"Then, I'll go check on her after I get my stuff back in the training area. Thanks, Doc!" Mac said with enthusiasm in his voice, he was excited to see her.

"Bye, Mac... See you in training tomorrow." Doc gave Mac one last pat on the shoulder before he walked the opposite direction.

* * *

Mac grabbed a hold of his bag and and keys as he wore his pink hoodie. He turned the training room's lights off before he left whistling in the empty hallway, then he was on his way to see Samus... His footsteps and whistling echoed through out the corridors.

He finally arrived in front of Samus' door. Without hesitating he knocked on the door with a little smile on his face, unfortunately there was no answer. Mac refused to stop there, so he knocked once more... Then again, no answer.

"...S-Samus?" Mac called out in a worried tone as he knocked again and again... Suddenly, the door creaked open by an inch from the impact of his last knock, the door wasn't locked after all.

He was wondering if he should go in or not... But he was just so worried, he decided to go in anyway.

The room was dark but there was a light that flashed from a specific angle in the room, as if it came from a television screen. Little Mac entered the room and continued to look around it, he slowly walked in and followed where the light was emitting from.

There he found a large-concave-T.V.-like screen, and below it was a techy-desk, where Samus had fallen asleep... She was seated down while her head was resting on her arms and her goggles were positioned on her forehead.

He approached her, checking if she was okay. Mac gently brushed Samus' hair across her face and latched the strands behind her ear. He stared upon her sleeping face... Samus looked so calm and yet, so beautiful. Mac couldn't help but sigh, he felt so relieved.

He turned to the screen and examined what was being projected... It seemed like a small-floating-alien creature with at least four claws under it - It was green but since it was quite transparent, its red veins could be seen. Beside it was Samus, who was wearing her powered suit without the helmet (she was holding her helmet close to her), smiling.

"It must be her pet or something..." Mac thought to himself, lifting his eyebrow. He was unsure what that thing was but he was sure that Samus was comfortable and happy with that creature. "

He decided that it was time for him to leave, she was perfectly fine so there's no need to stay here any longer. Mac turned back to Samus and noticed that she started shivering, her face showed discomfort as she tried to bury her head deeper in her arms.

Mac quickly removed his pink hoodie and wrapped it on her shoulders, covering her back as well. Samus stopped shivering and was back on her peaceful state. A smile started to appear on Mac's face.

"...See you later, Samus." Little Mac whispered as he gave Samus a gentle pat on her head. He then slowly left the room and closed her door shut.

* * *

"I-I would want a reservation for two please... F-For the night after tomorrow." Celine requested shyly while holding onto her telephone.

"_Okay, ma'am_." The voice coming from the other side of the phone replied. "_Your name please?_"

"Celine... The Wii Fit Trainer." Celine answered, quite embarrassed.

"_All set! Happy to serve you, Miss Celine!_" The voice said with happiness.

"T-Thank you." Celine said before she hung up. She sighed heavily and slumped on the couch. "Glad that's over! All I have to do now is to tell Little Mac about it!" Celine giggled, she was so excited.

* * *

A warm feeling, soft to the touch...

...And an attractive scent?

Samus slowly opened her eyes, and looked around in her position for a while. She saw her Varia suit in the distance, the navigation system screen was still on and wrapped around her was...

"A pink cloth?" She widened up her eyes as she lifted her head up. Samus pulled it off her and inspected it. "...This is Mac's hoodie."

"_...You slept for quite a while there, Samus._" A voice came from the navigation system, Samus turned to the screen, still holding onto the hoodie.

"What time is it?" She asked as she stood up from her seat.

"_It's 9:47 pm._" The system replied as the time shortly projected on the screen.

Samus stared at the pink hoodie for a moment. "Adam, by any chance did he..." Her words trailed off. "N-Nevermind."

"_...What's wrong, lady?_" The system questioned.

Samus turned back to the screen. "How did my friend's hoodie end up here?"

"_Ah... Your friend, the boxer - Little Mac, he was here a while ago._" The system told, recalling what happened while she was asleep. "_You seemed cold, so he lent you his jacket for now._"

"H-He kept me warm...? So he did come here." Samus blushed slightly. "A-Anything else?"

"_...No more information to be given, Samus._"

"Okay then, I'll be heading home now."

"_Be safe, Samus._" The system said before starting to shut down.

"Thanks, Adam." Samus stared onto the screen as it was still projecting the picture of her and the infant metroid. She smiled as the screen started to dim then turn off.

* * *

Mac threw himself on his bed and stared up his ceiling. He remembered how Samus looked as she slept, his lower lip started trembling, forming a goofy smile. Mac frustratedly groaned, trying to rub the smile off his face.

"Ugh! Get a hold of yourself, Little Mac!" He shouted and pounded his fists on his bed. Mac's loud voice echoed through the room as his bed bounced his arms slightly.

It was finally silent. Mac sighed, shutting his eyes as he crossed his arms behind his head, by the time he opened his eyes once more, he started smiling again. He was a little sad that he didn't get to talk to her, but at least he got to see her.

The image of her sleeping was stuck in his head... She's so cute.

"Dammit, Samus..." Mac gave a soft laugh. "You're making me go crazy."

* * *

The sunlight lit the clear off-white curtains, making the room look mellow. The birds sang their song as a couple of cars drove by. This morning was so peaceful... Actually different from any other. Mac woke up facing the right side of his bed, the curtains flailed slowly as a gentle breeze came in from the windows, he even saw the birds fly by... And his alarm clock wasn't making any sound. It's been a while since he woke up naturally. But just to make sure that he set the time correctly, he'll have to roll to the other side of the bed just to check.

Little Mac stretched as he slowly rolled himself to his left. Just when he was only expecting to see an alarm clock... Somebody was sleeping right beside him, in the same blanket he was in! (Although he was facing the person's back.)

"W..Who...?" Mac rubbed his eyes, thinking he was just seeing stuff. His blurred vision started to focus and clear up, but that person was still there... Wearing his pink hoodie and blonde hair could it be? Mac paused as his eyes widened.

"S-Samus?!" He quickly covered his mouth. "Did I say it too loud? No, no, no... Don't wake up!" Mac thought, panicking in his head.

The girl groaned and rolled over, now facing the flustered boxer. Her blonde hair was covering her face. Mac sighed softly, he was glad he didn't wake her up.

He gently pushed her hair away from her face and latched them on her ear. Now Mac has a clear view of her face, so it really was Samus. It's the first time Mac has ever seen her without her hair tied up, but either way... She still looked beautiful.

As Little Mac continued to gaze upon her sleeping face, he wondered how did she get here and why...

"What happened last night?" He thought to himself. Mac tried to recall but ended up with nothing, all he remembered is how he fell asleep while smiling like an idiot. "W-Wait.. What if... I'm dreaming?"

He lifted up the blanket and inspected Samus from head toe. Inside the hoodie was a loose gray tank top, she also wore white shorts and a pair of below-the-knee black socks... And her thighs exposed her pinkish white skin.

Mac blushed and gulped, placing the blanket back down. He felt like a pervert... That's the last thing he'd want to feel. He just felt so guilty, even if Samus was asleep, dream or not... All he wanted to do was to respect her. Mac pushed himself closer to her and gave her a tight hug.

"I-I'm sorry, Samus...!" He whispered shutting his eyes tight as his eyebrows furrowed.

Surprisingly, Samus' arms wrapped around him and rested her chin on the nook of his neck. Mac blushed even more... Her body pressing against him was so warm and soft, her scent was full of his. He took a look on her face and it seemed to be turning red too.

After a few moments of cuddling, Mac couldn't hold this feeling anymore...

"...Forgive me, Samus." Mac said as he moved his face closer to hers and placed his lips on hers. As Samus started to kiss back, she gripped on his shoulder with her right hand, the other was placed on his chest. Little Mac couldn't get enough of the taste of her lips, it felt so good... He placed his hand on her cheek, then he started to clamp onto her lips and move it in different angles. After a while, Samus started to make cute sounds from her mouth, which made Mac pull back slightly. "I love you..."

"...Samus." He whispered once more before continuing to kiss her.

* * *

*_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP_*

*_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP_*

Mac's eyes quickly opened as his clock continued alarming. He looked around, only to find himself hugging a pillow. "A-A dream...? No way... But Samus w-was..."

He sat up on the edge of his bed, realizing that it was really a dream. Mac's face showed disappointment, then he turned to his alarm clock, giving it a death glare and knocked it over the table. It finally stopped beeping. He wanted to unleash hell upon his alarm clock, but no matter how bad he damages his it, or how much he destroys it, he won't get his dream back.

Little Mac sighed, he wasn't all that upset... Samus would've killed him if it were real, or worse, ignore him. He stood up and placed the dream behind him, he has to get ready for the day.

* * *

Mac was about to leave but he felt like something was missing...

"Where's my hoodie? I know I left it here somewhere..." He looked around the counter and his living room, then he remembered that he left it with Samus. "Oh, right... I'll just get it later." Mac grabbed his keys and left.

He started to walk downstairs and was met up with Celine who had just locked her door.

She turned and smiled at him, "Oh, good morning, Mac."

"Hey, Celine." Mac waved and smiled back. "Mornin'"

"It seems like you slept well this time, that's good." Celine noticed how he wasn't drowsy as yesterday.

"Mm... Yeah." Mac blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head with an awkward smile. He was reminded of the dream again.

Celine's cheeks turned pink because she thought that Little Mac's reaction was so cute... "So, uhm... Let's go?"

"Sure." Mac nodded and the both of them walked down the stairs.

* * *

As they strolled down the sidewalk, Celine was making a few glances on Mac... He seemed pretty quiet and his face was quite red. "Mac?"

"Hm?" Mac turned to her.

"Why is your face red?" Celine tilted her head.

"W-Wha- It is?!" Mac started to panic, this was so embarrassing... He started to rub his face to take the redness of, but it was still there. "Oh jeez..."

Celine giggled. "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

"I-It's nothing...!" Mac got redder and redder.

"C'mon, you can tell me!" Celine nudged his arm with her elbow. "You can trust me with it!" She said thinking that Mac was blushing because he was with her, little does she know that Mac was actually thinking of the dream.

"..." Mac thought over it, since she's a friend, why not? "Okay, fine! But promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Okay, sure! Tell me the whole thing!" Celine nodded.

"...Especially Samus." Mac softly told.

"S-Samus...?" Celine gave a confused-worried look.

"Y-Yeah, you see... I had a dream about her, and it seems I can't get it out of my head." Mac scratched his cheek with his index finger. "She was sleeping on my bed, wearing my pink hoodie... And we... Kissed."

Celine wished she never asked... She felt so jealous and her anger towards Samus just added up.

"O-Oh, I see." She did a fake smile, hiding her frustration.

"It's just a dream so, yeah." Mac shrugged. He felt less flustered, he was glad he told Celine about it.

"Mhm." Celine turned away, pouting.

* * *

They finally arrived in the SSB arena and they were surrounded by the different brawlers in the entrance. Mac seemed to have stopped blushing... Celine halted and grabbed Mac's bag, stopping him.

Mac turned around confused. "Eh? What's wrong, Celine?"

Celine's whole face was red. "M-Mac... There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Mac asked, lifting his eyebrow.

Celine gave a deep breath then exhaled. "I... I made a reservation last night for two in the Nintendo Resturant."

"Oh? With whom?"

"...You."

Mac's eyes widened in shock. "W-Why would you... But I-"

"SHH! DON'T TELL ME YET!" Celine told as she covered her ears. "I-If you want to tell me something, then wait until the date!"

"Well... O-Okay then." Mac nodded slightly. He didn't know what to do...

"Good." Celine sighed. "I-I'll see you there tomorrow night, at 7pm! Don't forget!"

"No problem, I guess." He felt so unsure, should he go? If he'd refuse, that'll hurt Celine and besides, she already made the reservation.

"T-Thank you, Mac... I-"

"_Little Mac!_" A voice called out behind them.

The both of them turned, it was Samus... Walking briskly towards them.

"I'm glad I've found you." Samus was quite exhausted from looking around for him, but it's fine. She removed the pink hoodie and lent it to him, averting her eyes away shyly. "H-Here. Thanks for keeping me warm, I really appreciated it."

"H-How did she get his hoodie...?" Celine thought, she started to despise Samus and she couldn't help but feel suspicious about it. "...Could the dream actually be real?

"Oh!" Mac rubbed the back of his head and blushed. "No problem."

"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble last night." Samus sighed.

"No! Don't worry! You were cold so..." Mac flailed his hand as Samus gave a soft-embarrassed laugh.

"Anyways, I'll be on my way. See you around, guys!" Samus waved.

"Okay! See 'ya, Samus!" Mac waved back as she left headed to her area.

Celine was speechless, she curled up her fists tighly and left as well while Mac sighed happily.

He turned. "So, Celine...-" She wasn't there anymore. Mac scratched his head and shrugged once more. "Okay?"

* * *

Samus unlocked her door and opened her lights. "Good morning, Adam."

"_Good morning, Samus._" The system greeted as it turned on automatically.

Before Samus could close her door, it was pounded open by someone. It hit the wall hard making a loud thud. It was Celine, she looked so furious.

Samus gasped and backed away. "C-Celine? What's going on?"

"_What's with all the commotion over there?!_" The system exclaimed.

"DID YOU SLEEP WITH MAC LAST NIGHT?!" Celine shouted, still clenching her fists.

"W-What?! NO!" Samus shouted back. "WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT?!"

"THEN WHY DO YOU HAVE HIS HOODIE?!" Celine growled.

Samus sighed and placed her hand on her forehead. "Look, I was here and Mac stopped by while I was asleep. Adam said that I was cold so he wrapped his hoodie on me!"

"LIAR!" Celine stomped her foot.

"I'M NOT LYING, DAMMIT!" Samus gritted her teeth as she shouted once more.

"THEN WH-!"

"_CELINE!_" The system called out making Celine quiet and turn to the screen. "_Samus isn't lying, I saw the whole thing. Nothing happened between them, he just did that to keep her warm. In fact, Little Mac left after placing his hoodie on her._"

Samus glared at Celine, as if it were to tell her to leave. Celine looked back at Samus, glaring in return.

"Tch." Celine turned away and left immediately. Samus slammed her door and locked it.

"What's gotten into her?!" Samus said in an annoyed tone.

"_Why would she make a big deal out of the hoodie, lady? It's not your fault._" The system agreed.

"Really...? She's that obsessed with Little Mac?" Samus added. "Unbelievable!"

"_Are you implying that she has feelings for him?_" The system asked.

"Yes, she does." Samus nodded then placed her finger on her chin. "But I just don't understand how she'd get mad at me with a petty thing like that..."

"_..._"

Samus sighed heavily. "Anyways, thank you for helping me back there, Adam... I don't know what would've happen if you didn't stand up for me."

"_You're welcome, Samus._" The system replied. "_It's my duty to protect you._"

Samus smiled, hearing those words from Adam calmed her down.

"Okay, Let's get started." Samus grabbed her tool box and went back to fix her powered suit.

* * *

**-End of Chapter 4-**


	5. Chapter 5

Samus connects and changes the damaged wires in her Varia suit, sealing the newly attached wires with electrical tape and adds a metal layer sheet above the wires using a welding torch. She finally places the fixed abdomen piece of her suit and drills it in place. Samus gives the last touches on her suit, cleaning and polishing it. Now... It looks good as new!

"At last!" Samus said as she moved her safety goggles up on her forehead, wiping her sweat with her arm. She smiled and gazed proudly on her hard work. It took her almost 6 hours.

"_Nicely done, Samus!_" The system congratulated.

"Thank you, Adam." Samus replied.

"_You truly need a deserved break._"

"I sure do!" Samus laughed drinking from her water jug. She sat on the seat in front of the screen. "Adam, may I know the smash fights happening at the moment?"

"_Of course._" The system projected multiple screens of live fights happening in the arena. "_We have Lucina vs. Toon Link, 2 Villagers vs. Lucario and Dr. Mario, Pikachu vs. Wii Fit Trainer, Little Mac vs. Jigglypuff, Luigi vs. P-_"

"Hold on, Little Mac and Jigglypuff?" Samus interrupted, tilting her head slightly.

"_Why yes, they're in a stock battle in The Battlefield stage. Would you like to watch that fight?_" The system asked.

"Yes, Adam!" Samus was filled with excitement and glued her eyes to the screen.

The fight between Little Mac and Jigglypuff was focused and swiftly projected on the screen. The damage percentage of Jigglypuff was 43% while Little Mac's damage percentage is 47%. The both of them only have one last life left.

Mac gave a few jabs and an upper-cut, sending Jigglypuff in the air, as Jigglypuff stood back up, Little Mac taunted which infuriated her. Jigglypuff went for a dash attack but Little Mac countered it with his special neutral attack.

"Go, Little Mac!" Samus cheered, raising her right fist in the air. Jigglypuff's knockback was increased but she was able to grab on the edge of the stage. "C'mon, Mac! One more hit!"

Instead of fighting back, Jigglypuff started to sing making Little Mac extremely drowsy. Mac tries his best not to sleep, but before he knew it, Jigglypuff attacked him with an side smash! Little Mac sent off screen.

"**GAME!**" A loud voice echoed as a large ray of light beamed at the same direction where Little Mac was defeated.

Samus restrained herself to not laugh. "Oh Mac..." She laughed softly as she stood up from her chair.

"You aren't going to watch any more live fights, Samus?" The system asked as it projected back to the multiple screens menu. "I'm sure there are more interesting ones happening now."

"Later, Adam. Right now, I gotta go check on him." Samus brought her water jug along.

"You seem quite eager to see him... Could it be?" The system teased Samus before she could exit the door. She just glaced and gave a soft laugh, shaking her head. "Ah, Samus! Don't deny it!"

"Adam! Don't be ridiculous!" A playful smile started to form on her face as she continued laughing. "He's just a friend."

"Just admit it already!" The system said with a teasing tone.

"Whatever, Adam!" Samus jokingly rolled her eyes before leaving her room.

* * *

**Chapter 5 - The House Guest**

Samus walked through the long hallways of the arena, searching for the stage selection area where Little Mac and Jigglypuff fought in. She then heard a thud coming from one of the stage's exits.

"W-What was that?" Samus searched where the sound came from.

The sound came from Little Mac, he fell on the ground asleep. From the snoring, Jigglypuff immediately knew that he was asleep, she puffed her cheeks in frustration and took out a marker which she swiftly drew markings on Mac's face and snickered.

"SHOO!" Doc Louis rushed to Little Mac's aid as he drived Jigglypuff away. Jigglypuff squealed as she left bouncing. "Yeah! That's right! SCRAM!"

"That's Doc Louis' voice..." Samus wondered. Shortly, Jigglypuff exited one of the stage selection hallways and passed by Samus, frightened.

She walked over to the hallway where Jigglypuff came from and saw Doc Louis helping Little Mac up off the floor... She wanted to approach them but she had that feeling that retrained her to go nearer, as if something were to pull her back. She hid at the end of the hallway.

"Little Mac! Are you alright?!" Doc Louis desperately lifted him up and placed him on the nearby bench. Mac's face was marked with squiggles... Doc slowly started laughing. Little Mac was awakened by his coach's laughter.

"Mmm...?" Mac groaned and forced his drowsy eyes open. "W-What are you laughing at, Doc?"

"Pfft.. She drew on your face, Mac!" Doc laughed louder.

"DAMMIT!" Little Mac growled. "IT BETTER NOT BE PERMANENT MARKER!"

"It is! Wait 'til Samus finds out!" Doc joked, contiuing to laugh. Mac's eyes widened in realization, he can't let Samus see him like this!

"Oh no, Doc!" He quickly stood up and grabbed both of Doc Louis' shoulders. "Q-Quick! I better get this off before she sees me!"

Samus heard her name being mentioned in their conversation. "Why is he so concerned about that...?" She thought.

"C'mon! Don't you want to see her smile?" Doc patted Mac's back.

"S-See me smile?" Samus overheard, covering her mouth. Her eyes widened as her cheeks flushed with pink.

Little Mac turned away as his face flushed with red. "Y-Yes! But not at me!"

"Well, okay then. If you say so..." Doc chuckled. "Let's head back."

They started exiting the stage selection area, towards Samus.

"I thought almost had it! I was so close to beating that pink furball!" Mac said in an infuriating tone, disappointed with his loss.

Doc breathe out, patting Mac's back. "I know, I know... Better luck next time, Mac."

Little Mac gave a mild sulky look but faded away when he noticed someone who seemed to be at end of the hallway. "Who's that?"

"I don't know, let's see..." Doc noticed too. "Excuse me, are you waiting for someone?" He called out.

"H-Huh?" Samus turned around, flustered.

"Wait, is that-"

"HOLY CRAP, IT'S SAMUS!" Little Mac wasted no time in shielding his face. He hid behind doc Louis. "D-Did she see me?" He whispered.

"I think so...?" Doc whispered back then quickly faced Samus. "H-Hey, nice to see you! What brings you here?"

Samus gulped, nervous on what to say. "I... I came here to check on Mac. But now it isn't the best timing, is it?"

"Y-You're not going to laugh, right?" Little Mac said as he was still behind Doc.

"I'll try not to..." Samus replied.

Little Mac slowly approached her with his head kept low. He was hesitant to look at her...

Samus sighed with a smile and held his cheeks in one hand, just like what she did the other day. "Just let me see..." She lifted his head upward, now making him face her. Little Mac averted his eyes shyly... Meanwhile, Samus couldn't help it and gave out a soft laugh.

Mac focused his eyes back to her face... Instead of feeling embarrassed, he felt heat rush into his cheeks. Hearing Samus' sweet laugh was music to his ears and the sight of her calm smile was so worth it. His eyes focused on her face as his started to burn up.

Samus stopped laughing. "O-Oh! Sorry..." She looked down, keeping a gentle smile.

"I-It's alright! No biggie!" Little Mac said in a buoyant tone.

"Good..." Samus exhaled. She thought she made Mac feel upset, by the looks of it, he seems alright! Samus turned around and glanced. "Let's get you cleaned up, Mac."

She went ahead of them as Mac was completely charmed by her laughter.

Doc nudged Mac's arm with his elbow. "See? What did I tell 'ya?"

Little Mac gave a bashful expression. "Let's just go!" He covered his face once more.

They then followed Samus heading back to Mac's training area.

* * *

Rosalina gasped and covered her mouth in worry. "Oh..! How awful..."

Celine heard Rosalina sounding rather troubled. She exited her area wiping her face with a towel.

"What seems to be the matter, Rosalina?" Celine approached.

"Oh, Celine!" Rosalina and Luma turned to the confused Wii-Fit trainer. "You see... Luma told me that she just saw Little Mac covered with unnecessary marks on his face."

"M-Marks?!" Celine exclaimed. "What kind of marks?!"

"Now... Calm down. It's only marker ink." Rosalina explained. "But he did quite look embarrassed."

"Who in the right mind would do such a thing?!" Celine questioned, slightly irritated.

"Why, Jigglypuff of course. She's the only one that draws on your face when you fall asleep by her singing... Also, she and Little Mac were in a match earlier."

"I gotta help him clean the stain on his face!" Celine went in and snatched a miniature bottle of hand sanitizer and a box of tissues.

"Oh... Well...-"

Luma interupted by whispering to Rosalina's ear.

"Wait...! He's..." She tried to inform Celine but she hurriedly left. "Little Mac is already being helped by Samus...! ...Oh dear."

* * *

When Little Mac and Doc Louis arrived, Samus was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd she go?" Mac looked around.

"Hm... I don't know." Doc did the same.

"I'm back!" Samus walked towards them holding a two clean towel and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "I can help you remove the marker ink, just stay still, okay?"

"W-Wha- O-Okay..." Mac was unsure about this, but something inside him wanted this to happen.

"I'll just clean the room, if you don't mind." Doc bounced his eyebrows at Mac before leaving the two to get a mop. Mac turned red once more.

Samus applied the rubbing alcohol on the the towel. "Close your eyes."

Little Mac obeyed and Samus started to wipe the towel against his face gently. It was effective, the ink was being completely erased. She flipped the towel to the other side to clean the excess ink from being smudged.

Celine arrived near Little Mac's training area and walked towards it... She started to get excited to help Little Mac. She suddenly gasped... Celine noticed that Samus was in there with him. She backed away slowly and watched from a distance. It looks like Samus got there first.

Samus places an amount of water on the the second towel and wipes Mac's entire face with it, so the chemicals won't irritate his eyes. "You can open them now."

Little Mac opened his eyes and stared on Samus' dashing blue eyes. The both of them locked eye-contact with each other. Doc Louis turned around slightly to peek.

"Oh... Um..." Samus turned away in an embarrassed manner.

"A-Ah! I'm sorry...!" Mac turned away as well.

"It's alright." Samus said faintly.

"...M-Mac." Celine murmured. She saw how he looked at Samus and how Samus looked back at him.

As Doc Louis _casually_ cleans the floor with a mop, he notices someone watching Mac and Samus from the outside. It was Celine... He started to worry, he knew about the date she reserved for herself and Little Mac. Doc thought she would cause trouble, but she just left without a word.

"...C-Celine?" He blurted out in a soft but confused manner. The two turned to him.

"What did you say, Doc? I didn't quite catch you..." Mac asked.

"Huh? Oh! Nothing..." Doc shrugged and continued mopping the floor.

"Well, I better head back to my area now." Samus gathered the used towels and the rubbing alcohol.

Little Mac turned to Samus. "You're leaving now?"

"Yeah... But of course, I'll see you guys around!" Samus waved and started to leave.

"Samus, wait!" Mac called out.

"Hm? What is it, Little Mac?" Samus halted and turned.

"T-Thank you... You know, for removing the marker ink off my face." Mac rub the back of his head with his hand, shyly.

"It was a pleasure helping you, Mac. You're welcome." Samus replied with a smile and gave him a pat on his head. "See you later."

"B-Bye." Mac awkwardly smiled back. Samus waved once more and left Mac's training area, bringing the items she used to help him.

* * *

"I'm back!" Samus said as she closed the door.

"_So soon? I expected you to be back longer!_" The system teased.

Samus crossed her arms. "Oh c'mon, Adam! I already told you!"

"_Alright, alright... I'll stop, lady._" The system chuckled. Samus walked over to her Varia suit and inspected it from top to bottom, pacing around it. "_Hey... Why don't you rest for today? You've really worked yourself out since this morning._"

Samus looked at the navigation system screen then looked down, smiling. "Yeah... But I might have a scheduled fight at any moment, Adam."

"_That's alright. If you do... I'll just re-schedule them tomorrow, that way you will be left undisturbed._" The system told.

Samus let out a huge sigh and threw herself on the sofa. "...Thank you!"

"_It was my pleasure, lady._"

"What time is it, Adam?" Samus moved herself to a more comfortable position.

"_Approximately 12:49 pm._" The navigation system replied as it projected the time on the screen.

"Can you please set an alarm at exactly 5pm?" Samus requested.

"_Certainly._"

"Thank you, Adam." Samus thanked once more.

"_Rest well, Samus._" The system went on sleep mode as the room lights dimmed. Samus smiled and closed her eyes.

* * *

"I saw how you guys looked at each other, Mac!" Doc teased.

"I-I know! I know!" Mac's face furiously reddened. He covered his face with both of his hands and let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, Doc... She's too beautiful for me. Am I really deserving for her?"

"Well Mac, you're the one that's supposed to answer that." Doc told, putting his arm around Mac's shoulder. "But if you want my opinion, I'd say you two look perfect together!" He shook his arm along with Mac trying to bring his confidence up.

"Then... I got to tell her how I feel somehow, Doc!" Little Mac stood up, motivated but quickly sat back down. "Ugh! I'm too embarrassed to even ask her on a simple date! What more if I confess?!"

"It's alright, kid!" Doc patted his back. "Also... We have to talk about your upcoming date with Celine tomorrow evening."

"...Oh yeah. That thing." Mac paused, remembering about it.

* * *

Celine ran back to her area and slammed the door. She was speechless.

What she saw earlier to replay in her head. Samus cleaning Little Mac's face... Both of them making a seemingly romantic eye contact. She locked herself in as she set the box of tissues and the small bottle of hand sanitizer aside.

"You dirty... FLIRTATIOUS WITCH...!" She cursed, shouting onto her sound proof walls. "YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T LIKE HIM! YOU SAID THAT LITTLE MAC'S ALL MINE! YOU LIAR!"

Celine bursted into tears, wishing that she confessed during when Mac thought Samus was a guy. Wishing that she was never friends with Samus nor trusted her. Ever since Mac discovered what lied beneath the Varia suit, he and Samus became closer with each other... While Celine drifted further away from him.

"This is all your fault, Samus... This is all your doing...!" She growled, clenching her fists. "He could've liked me... Not you."

Celine was combined with anger and sadness... It overwhelmed her. The immense hate inside her... The enormous regrets... Overwhelmed her.

"N-No... This can't be happening...! They can't like each other!" Celine silenced herself as she trembled in anger. "...I won't allow it."

* * *

**...**

You enter a room called "Retricted Laboratory"... You carefully investigate. In these rooms you see the first four evolution stages of a Metroid, all of them being preserved in tanks.

Your eyes widened in shock, you thought the Metroid species were wiped out when your friend, Adam self-destructs Bottle Ship's Sector Zero... You thought wrong.

The Galactic Federation **lied**.

You hear something malfunctioning... Feel the ground shaking. You see infant metroids flying uncontrolably as the atmosphere as the lights blinked red.

"**Fire alert. This sector will soon be locked down. Sixty seconds to isolation lock-down.**" The P.A. warned.

Samus started panting as she continued to explore the place. She then found the SA-X opening fire to the infant metroids, but it only backfired... Leading it to be over powered by a swarm. Samus desperately did her best to find a way out, she roughly has less than a minute to escape, but the baby metroids that were flying about weren't helping to get out that easily... She finally hung onto a ledge and swiftly pulled herself up. She enters the hatch giving a final glance as it closes... Fire errupted and beamed from the lab as it was reflected on her green visor. Samus' panting echoed as everything faded into white.

* * *

**5:00 p.m.**

Loud beeping noises, echoed around Samus' room... The navigation system screen blinked red, making her room seem like in self destruct countdown. She slowly sat up struck from the dream, still panting. She held her forehead in disbelief.

The system notices Samus awake so it disables the alarm immediately. "_Are you alright, Samus?_"

Samus gulped and tried to calm herself down by taking deep breaths. "...Y-Yes. Thank you for your concern, I'm fine."

"_You seem unsettled... Did you have a bad dream?_"

"I... Yes, I did."

"_Do you mind telling me? It might make you feel better._" The system suggested.

"Remember when I ignored my orders and found the restricted lab in the B.S.L.?"

"_Absolutely..._"

"It was just like a flashback of what I witnessed in there, that's all." Samus told.

"_You must've felt horrified. The tubed specimens shocked you, right?_"

Samus nodded. "Yes. I thought the Galactic Federation would exterminate the species not multiply them...!"

"_They lied to you, Samus. I apologize for not telling you sooner._"

"It's alright, Adam. The computerized self programmed not to in the first place. I understand." Samus stood up from the sofa and went to get her bag and house keys.

"_Going home?_"

"Mhm."

As Samus gathered her things, she realized something was missing. "Adam? Have you seen my water jug?" She asked as she turned.

"_I haven't... But the last time I saw it is when you brought it outside._" The system replied.

Samus recalled that she left it in Little Mac's training room. "Oh, now I remember! Thank you, Adam!"

"_No problem, Samus._" The system replied and started to shut down. "_See you tomorrow._"

"Goodnight, Adam." Samus grabbed her things as the room started to dim. She locked her room shut and went back towards Mac's area.

* * *

Meanwhile back at Little Mac's training area, Doc Louis was arranging the towels on the shelf and he noticed an unfamiliar water bottle.

"Hey, Mac." Doc called his attention as he held the water jug. "Is this yours?"

Little Mac stopped hitting his punching bag and turned to his coach. "Huh? No it's not mine...- Hey! That belongs to Samus!"

"Well then..." Doc handed Samus' water jug over to him. "Why don't you give it to her?"

Little Mac removed his punching gloves and grabbed the water jug. "U-Uh..."

"You can send her back to her house if you want." Doc held Mac's shoulder. "After that, you can go home immediately. Besides, it's getting pretty late."

"Are you going to be fine alone here?"

"Why, of course! But aren't you supposed be concerned of Samus at the moment?" Doc chuckled. "Now's a really good time."

Mac looked at the water jug for a while, then at Doc. In realization, his face heated up. "Wait... A-Are you trying to make me confess to her?"

Doc gave a wink to signal it as a yes. "Go get 'em, Mac."

Mac was filled with excitement as he rushed to get his things and pink hoodie, but before he could leave... He stopped.

"Easy, kid. If you feel that rattled about it, you don't have to." Doc approached Mac and gave a pat on his shoulder. "Sending Samus back to her place is a good enough."

He nodded. "Thanks, Doc." Mac took a deep breath and left.

* * *

Mac and Samus walked through the same hallway... Little did they know that they were walking towards each other. Mac looked down at the ground as he walked, somewhat shy. As of for Samus, she strolled in a poised manner... Then she noticed someone walking near before her.

"Mac?" Samus called out as she stopped at a distance in front of him.

He looked up and saw Samus stare at him with a gentle smile her face, waving. "Samus! H-Hi!" He waved as he gave a handsome smile. Samus blushed and jolted slightly from seeing that smile. "H-Here... You left this." Mac stuttered as he lent Samus' water jug back to her.

"Oh!" Samus took it and attached it on a bottle-holder pouch which was on the side of her bag. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Mac replied, rubbing his neck with his hand.

"So... Are you headed home too?" Samus asked him since she noticed he was carrying a bag as well.

"Yeah." Mac averted his eyes away. "A-Actually... I wanted to send you home back to your place."

"W-What?" Samus was astonished. "You know, you don't need to do that, Mac."

"I-I insist!" Mac persisted. "I should repay you for the help you did earlier... It's that least I can do."

Samus sighed, she couldn't deny him. "Alright, alright..." She gave a soft laugh. "My apartment is just a couple of blocks away from your house. It won't be that hard."

"Yes!" Mac fist pumped. "Uh... I-I mean...! Okay!"

* * *

They exited the SSB arena together. As they were walking down the side-walk, they started a conversation.

"Did anyone tell you what Celine did?" Mac turned to Samus.

Samus shook her head. "I'm afraid not. How come?"

"You see... Celine set herself a date for tomorrow night at the Nintendo restaurant and suprisingly, she made me her date!" Mac gave a puzzled expression. "I... I just don't understand why she did that."

Samus laughed out loud which shocked Mac because he never heard her laugh that hard before.

"Oh Mac...! Don't you see?" Samus held his shoulders as her smile started slowly fading away. "Celine... Likes you! She has feelings for you..."

Mac's eyes widened, but before he could speak, the sound of loud thunder suddenly interrupted as the sky turned gray. The clouds flicker with lightning... And rain started to pour down on them.

Samus instantly reached in her bag but paused. "Shoot... I left my umbrella!"

"It's alright!" Mac quickly dropped his bag and removed his pink hoodie. "Here!" He placed it over Samus' head.

"W-Wait, Mac! What about you?" Samus worried as he got drenched in the rain.

"Don't worry about me! That hoodie can't cover the both of us." Mac reasured her, trying to cover himself with his bag. "What matters now is that I get you back home!"

* * *

Little Mac guided her through the rain as his clothes and hair went soggy from the rain.

As soon as they passed by his apartment building, Samus lead him across the street. "My apartment is just straight ahead!"

Mac follwed but kept up his pace. He saw a bunch of identical but simple apartment houses emerging from the hazy atmosphere. They took cover under the porche as they both shivered from the cold.

"O-Oh no... Mac, you're soaking wet...!" Samus became worried as she removed the damp hoodie on her head.

"I-It's okay..." Mac smiled faintly as his teeth chattered slightly.

"No it's not! I won't let you leave looking like that." Samus unlocked her front door and opened it. "Come inside, I'll find something to dry yourself with."

"N-No need!" Mac took a step back. "I'll just-"

Samus pulled him in. "C'mon! You'll freeze out here!"

Mac stood still, somewhat uncomfortable. He's never been invited in a house before, to a girl that is.

Samus closed her door and hook her keys on the key holder by the door. "Take a seat, Mac." She told him as she placed the dripping hoodie on the coat hanger. Then Samus went inside the bathroom.

"Huh?" Mac looked at her blankly then turned his head to his left and noticed a sofa. "Oh...!" He sat down as he rubbed his arms to keep himself warm.

Samus exited the room with folded towels and placed it on the table in front of Mac. "Here."

"T-Thanks, Samus." Mac took one towel and wiped himself with it.

"You're welcome, Mac." Samus gave a half-smile and went behind the counter.

Mac noticed that Samus seemed to be preparing something. "...What are you doing?"

"Doing you a favor." She laughed softly, as she ripped open a pouch.

"What kind of favor?" Mac lifted his eyebrow.

Samus went towards him, holding two cups of hot coffee. "This." She lent the other cup to Mac. "If you need anything else, just inform me."

She went in her room as Mac's face turned red, speechless. He took a sip from the cup... It was delicious. He sighed in relief as his body warmed slightly. Mac leaned back on the sofa and continued drinking the hot beverage.

He closed his eyes, feeling so relaxed from the coffee. "Mmm..." Mac opened his eyes and looked around. "...Wow."

Samus' house looked cozy and unique... The wall was painted in a blue-lightish color. The furniture complemented the the place. It was wonderful to think that Samus has a good taste in designing.

Samus came outside her room, wearing a new set of clothes with a towel hanging on her shoulder. "Once your done with your coffee, you can decide to go home." She sipped onto hers.

"Okay." Mac responded and went to take another sip, but nothing came out. Puzzled, he looked inside his cup... Empty.

Mac looked at Samus and saw her covering her mouth, trying to conceal her laughther. She was leaning on the wall, holding her cup of coffee on the opposite hand.

"The coffee's delicious, isn't it?" Samus giggled shortly.

Mac blushed even more. "Y-Yes! It is...!" He felt quite embarrassed because that seemed clumsy of him to do.

"I guess you're good to go home now." Samus said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "It's getting late."

Little Mac had a feeling that he didn't want to leave... He wanted to stay around her longer, but that would probably make him a burden for her. "Yeah..." Mac placed his empty cup aside and stood up the sofa. "Thanks for bringing me in your house and helping me... Again."

"I'm just expressing gratitude for taking me back home safely, so don't mention it."

Mac gave a smile and got his hoodie from the coat hanger. Samus opened the door for him and followed him out. "So... I'll be going ahead now."

Samus inspected him and she somehow remembered something. "OH! Wait here!" She went back inside and briefly came back. Samus draped a towel around Mac. "This is to keep you warm." Then gave him an umbrella. "And this is to keep you dry."

"S-Samus, You don't- You've done enough already! Why are you so kind to me?!" Mac furiously turned red.

"..." Samus stared at him, stunned. Then she averted her eyes shyly. "I-I'm sorry..."

"N-No! It's not a bad thing! I'm just worried that... It's too much." Mac held his forehead. "Aren't I a burden to you?"

"Why would you be?" Samus held his shoulder. "You're a great person!"

Mac stared at her, trying to hide his expression. Their eyes locked at each other for a second. He rubbed the back of his head "I-Is it alright if... I get your number?"

"E-Eh?" Samus turned pink. "S-Sure! Just give me your phone."

Mac got his phone out of his bag and gave it to Samus.

She typed his cellphone number and saved it. "There, I labelled it with my name already. When you get home, message me, so I'll have your number too."

"O-Okay." Mac nodded. He untied the umbrella. "See you tomorrow, Samus!" He waved before he exited her porch. Mac opened the umbrella and covered himself from the rain.

Samus watched him cross the street and fade away in the thick pouring rain then went back in.

* * *

Little Mac arrived home, contented for what happened. He placed Samus' umbrella in the corner beside the entrance. He locked the door, suddenly he felt chilly. He swiftly rubbed his arms and wrapped the towel tighter. He sat on his sofa and brought out his phone. He was starting to message Samus.

"Hey, Samus... This is Mac, I'm back home. Thank you so much for what you did for today... I really appreciate it. :)" He then hit the send button.

Mac was smiling for a while but disappeared when he was hit with a sudden headache, making him drop his phone on the carpet.

"AAAARGGH...!" He held his temple in pain. It was accompanied with coughs. "Ugh..." He slumped on the sofa and felt himself getting weaker and weaker... Closing his eyes, he instantly fell asleep.

* * *

**-End of Chapter 5-**

* * *

**A MESSAGE FROM FRANNYGAZELLE:**

Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As you can see, I really worked hard on it... I stayed up making this during the second week of Christmas Vacation until today.

I would like to greet you guys a Happy New Year! And to show how glad I am to celebrate my 3rd Year Anniversary of being a writer here in FanFiction last June 31, 2015 (New Year's Eve). Thank you all for being here with me!

If you guys are wondering why I only updated now is because I rather give a chapter that took more effort and time (to make it look more detailed) than the one that's short and rushed. Since it's been a while since I updated, it takes some time for me to adjust/adapt or gain my inspiration, ideas and the motivation to write. I developed it while I was taking my time, so this is the outcome.

If my efforts still lack something or this chapter doesn't really satisfy you... I apologize. I'll do my best next time.

Thank you for stopping by! -FrannyGazelle


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